The Pros and Cons of Telephone Therapy

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Introduction

Along with the development of technology, telephone therapy becomes more and more popular as a new way of mental treatment, especially for those who are struggling with jobs and time arrangement.

Thereby, instead of meeting therapists in person, people with mental illnesses can currently refer to the over the phone therapy method. This article will show you the pros and cons of telephone therapy and why you should have tried it.

The Pros And Cons Of Telephone Therapy

It has been questioned whether telephone therapy can bring the same benefits for patients as what the traditional one – face to face therapy has done so far. Some people hold the opinion that the latter cannot be as beneficial and effective as the former could, but some do not. Let’s see what makes the difference!

People prefer the traditional way – face to face therapy because of the following reasons:

  • Firstly, face-to-face sessions have been performed for years and helped many mental disorders recover, its regularity and credibility cannot be denied.
  • Secondly, it is always good to see each other in person. From face-to-face communication, real reactions and emotions can be shown to the therapists and help them better understand the feeling and mental problems of each patient.

Though people are really in need of counseling, there would be a wealth of reasons which make people unable to attend person-to-person sessions including commitments to work, matters of transportation, and mostly time arrangement.

Therefore, telephone therapy has been created and considered a lifesaver to them as it offers many pros which match extremely well with their needs:

Pros

1.       Convenience.

When you are on an over the phone therapy session, you can talk to your therapist from anywhere in the world, as long as its atmosphere is quiet and private. The difficulties of transportation, time management, and many others can be significantly avoided.

2.       Saving Time and Money

To attend a telephone session, you can just make an appointment and a phone call to your therapist. No traveling, the time and money spending on a therapy session would be reduced considerably.

3.       Confidentiality

All therapists shall be subject to confidentiality and ethical guidelines which means, whether you participate in a telephone or face-to-face therapy, your therapist shall be responsible for keeping all your information and health status confidentially. Whereas, you are able to keep your identity a secret on an over the phone therapy session.

Cons

Despite the above pros, telephone-based therapy remains some cons.

1.       Low connection

Phone or online connection remains unstable as signal transmission lines are sometimes interrupted. The therapy session has no way but ended, your mental problem remains unsolved. If the circumstance lasts for so long, your mental health can be affected as well.

2.       Cybercrime

Although your therapist commits to be confidential to your information, some individuals may try to gain access to the phone call and steal your information (for bad purposes) via over the phone therapy.

These disadvantages can be harmful, but people believe they can be solved shortly by the development of technology recently.

Conclusion

Have the pros and cons of telephone therapy given been clear to you? We believe the benefits offered can be compared to face-to-face therapy. If for some reasons, you cannot attend sessions in person on a regular basis, you can be counseled on your mental illness with  over the phone therapy. Have a good day!

 

 

 

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